The ACLU is pushing Congress to outlaw corporal punishment in the United States.

Although the practice has been banned throughout New England, it is currently legal to use physical punishment as a means of disciplining students in 20 states, primarily in the South.

The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities held a hearing yesterday on the matter.

Linda Pee, a mother from Mississippi, submitted testimony documenting how her daughter was physically disciplined multiple times throughout her school years. During one incident, her child was paddled to the point of bruising by the principal for violating the school's dress code.

“Corporal punishment in public schools is simply unacceptable. It harms students physically and psychologically and stands in the way of academic success, especially for African-American students and students with disabilities,” said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “Congress must ban this arcane form of discipline in all public schools so that children can learn in safety and without fear.”

Some individual principals counter that corporal punishment is effective, although the National Association of Secondary School Principals opposes the practice.